--- title: "Carol Fair's last flight: American's 63-year flight attendant retires Monday" description: "A water salute usually saved for pilots awaits an 83-year-old flight attendant who started when American turned her away, and her final trip is Flight 733…" url: https://travel.skoop.news/american-airlines-8217-most-senior-flight-attendant-retires--c46954/ published: 2026-10-24T08:10:48.830997-04:00 modified: 2026-10-24T08:10:48.831021-04:00 section: "Travel" publisher: "skoop.news" language: en keywords: ["Fair", "American Airlines Flight", "Piedmont Airlines", "Guinness World Records", "Bette Nash", "Carol Fair", "North Carolina", "Charlotte", "London", "Charlotte-London"] hashtags: ["#AmericanAirlinesFlight", "#PiedmontAirlines", "#GuinnessWorldRecords", "#Airline", "#travel"] image: https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fc/Diagram_of_Piedmont_Airlines_flight_349.png/1280px-Diagram_of_Piedmont_Airlines_flight_349.png?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail --- # Carol Fair's last flight: American's 63-year flight attendant retires Monday > A water salute usually saved for pilots awaits an 83-year-old flight attendant who started when American turned her away, and her final trip is Flight 733 from London to Charlotte. Published 2026-10-24 · Updated 2026-10-24 · Travel, [skoop.news](https://skoop.news/) ## In brief - Carol Fair's career spans over 63 years, and it ends on Monday, October 26, 2026. [[1]](https://onemileatatime.com/news/american-airlines-most-senior-flight-attendant-retires/) - American is expected to hold a water salute for Fair when she lands in Charlotte. [[1]](https://onemileatatime.com/news/american-airlines-most-senior-flight-attendant-retires/) - When Fair first started her career, American rejected her, claiming she was not American material. [[1]](https://onemileatatime.com/news/american-airlines-most-senior-flight-attendant-retires/) ## A 63-year career ends Monday Carol Fair's career spans over 63 years, and it ends on Monday, October 26, 2026. [[1]](https://onemileatatime.com/news/american-airlines-most-senior-flight-attendant-retires/) She is American's most senior active flight attendant, and she retires after her last flight from London (LHR) to Charlotte (CLT). [[1]](https://onemileatatime.com/news/american-airlines-most-senior-flight-attendant-retires/) She will work that trip as American Airlines Flight 733. [[2]](https://www.forbes.com/sites/tedreed/2026/10/21/american-airlines-top-seniority-flight-attendant-now-83-looks-to-retire/) Fair is 83 years old. [[1]](https://onemileatatime.com/news/american-airlines-most-senior-flight-attendant-retires/) If you fly the London to Charlotte route, this is the flight that carries her final trip. [[2]](https://www.forbes.com/sites/tedreed/2026/10/21/american-airlines-top-seniority-flight-attendant-now-83-looks-to-retire/) ## A water salute for a flight attendant American is expected to hold a water salute for Fair when she lands in Charlotte. [[1]](https://onemileatatime.com/news/american-airlines-most-senior-flight-attendant-retires/) The honor is typically reserved for pilots on their last flight rather than flight attendants. [[1]](https://onemileatatime.com/news/american-airlines-most-senior-flight-attendant-retires/) Water salutes are common in the airline industry for veteran pilots' final flights but rare for flight attendants. [[2]](https://www.forbes.com/sites/tedreed/2026/10/21/american-airlines-top-seniority-flight-attendant-now-83-looks-to-retire/) ## From rejection to No. 1 When Fair first started her career, American rejected her, claiming she was not American material. [[1]](https://onemileatatime.com/news/american-airlines-most-senior-flight-attendant-retires/) She joined Piedmont Airlines in 1963. [[2]](https://www.forbes.com/sites/tedreed/2026/10/21/american-airlines-top-seniority-flight-attendant-now-83-looks-to-retire/) Fair described her progression from small aircraft to large jets, moving from a DC-3 to a 767 when she first flew to London. [[2]](https://www.forbes.com/sites/tedreed/2026/10/21/american-airlines-top-seniority-flight-attendant-now-83-looks-to-retire/) She worked the first Charlotte-London flight on June 15, 1987, as a Piedmont Airlines flight attendant. [[2]](https://www.forbes.com/sites/tedreed/2026/10/21/american-airlines-top-seniority-flight-attendant-now-83-looks-to-retire/) Her honors include membership in the North Carolina and Tennessee aviation halls of fame. [[2]](https://www.forbes.com/sites/tedreed/2026/10/21/american-airlines-top-seniority-flight-attendant-now-83-looks-to-retire/) Only a few dozen Piedmont flight attendants remain. [[2]](https://www.forbes.com/sites/tedreed/2026/10/21/american-airlines-top-seniority-flight-attendant-now-83-looks-to-retire/) Fair said it is time to retire and that she has enjoyed every minute of her career. [[1]](https://onemileatatime.com/news/american-airlines-most-senior-flight-attendant-retires/) She also said she made No. 1 out of 30,000 with nowhere higher to go. [[1]](https://onemileatatime.com/news/american-airlines-most-senior-flight-attendant-retires/) ## Why she flew international Fair primarily flies international routes. [[1]](https://onemileatatime.com/news/american-airlines-most-senior-flight-attendant-retires/) She says she prefers the quality of passengers on international flights to those on domestic flights. [[1]](https://onemileatatime.com/news/american-airlines-most-senior-flight-attendant-retires/) ## How a career can run this long There is no maximum age to work as a flight attendant in the United States, as long as the flight attendant passes recurrent training each year. [[1]](https://onemileatatime.com/news/american-airlines-most-senior-flight-attendant-retires/) Senior flight attendants who fail recurrent training can take it multiple times. [[1]](https://onemileatatime.com/news/american-airlines-most-senior-flight-attendant-retires/) Seniority-based bidding and maximum pay give senior flight attendants an incentive to keep working. [[1]](https://onemileatatime.com/news/american-airlines-most-senior-flight-attendant-retires/) ## The record Fair follows Bette Nash, American's most senior flight attendant ever, started her career in 1957 and worked in the airline industry for 67 years until 2024. [[1]](https://onemileatatime.com/news/american-airlines-most-senior-flight-attendant-retires/) Guinness World Records recognized her as the world's longest serving flight attendant. [[1]](https://onemileatatime.com/news/american-airlines-most-senior-flight-attendant-retires/) Nash died at age 88. [[1]](https://onemileatatime.com/news/american-airlines-most-senior-flight-attendant-retires/) ## Piedmont's Charlotte roots Piedmont began connecting flights in Charlotte in 1979 and opened a new Charlotte terminal in 1982. [[2]](https://www.forbes.com/sites/tedreed/2026/10/21/american-airlines-top-seniority-flight-attendant-now-83-looks-to-retire/) Fair's first Charlotte-London flight came five years after that terminal opened. [[2]](https://www.forbes.com/sites/tedreed/2026/10/21/american-airlines-top-seniority-flight-attendant-now-83-looks-to-retire/) ## What this means for you If you are booked on American Airlines Flight 733 from London to Charlotte on Monday, October 26, 2026, you are on Fair's last flight. [[2]](https://www.forbes.com/sites/tedreed/2026/10/21/american-airlines-top-seniority-flight-attendant-now-83-looks-to-retire/) [[1]](https://onemileatatime.com/news/american-airlines-most-senior-flight-attendant-retires/) When the plane lands in Charlotte, American is expected to hold a water salute, an honor typically reserved for pilots. [[1]](https://onemileatatime.com/news/american-airlines-most-senior-flight-attendant-retires/) Fair primarily flies international routes, and London to Charlotte is one of them. [[1]](https://onemileatatime.com/news/american-airlines-most-senior-flight-attendant-retires/) [[2]](https://www.forbes.com/sites/tedreed/2026/10/21/american-airlines-top-seniority-flight-attendant-now-83-looks-to-retire/) ## Sources 1. [American Airlines’ Most Senior Flight Attendant Retires After 63+ Years](https://onemileatatime.com/news/american-airlines-most-senior-flight-attendant-retires/) — One Mile at a Time 2. [American Airlines Most Senior Flight Attendant, Now 83, Looks To Retire](https://www.forbes.com/sites/tedreed/2026/10/21/american-airlines-top-seniority-flight-attendant-now-83-looks-to-retire/) — Yahoo Image: Photo: Civil Aeronautics Board, US Department of Transportation / Wikimedia Commons, Public domain (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Diagram_of_Piedmont_Airlines_flight_349.png) --- Written from the sources above and checked twice (rules and an independent model) before publishing. How we work: https://skoop.news/how-we-work/ · Corrections: https://skoop.news/corrections/